South of Scotland

Overview

Mr and Mrs C complained that Mrs C's GP should have referred her to a specialist earlier.  Her cancer would then have been identified earlier and her quality of life might have been better.

Specific complaint and conclusion

The complaint which has been investigated is that Mrs C experienced undue delay in referral to a specialist (not upheld).

Redress and recommendation

The Ombudsman has no recommendation to make.

Overview

The complainant (Mr C) raised concerns that the Cairngorms National Park Authority (the Authority) failed to treat his planning application in a fair and consistent manner, in that it called in his application but had not called in a similar one; that the time taken to decide the application was excessive; and that the Authority failed to decide the application at the site visit after saying they would.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints which have been investigated are:

• (a)  failure to treat Mr C's application in a fair and consistent manner compared to another (not upheld); and
• (b)  the time taken to determine the application was excessive and the Authority failed to make a decision at a site visit after saying they would (not upheld).

Redress and recommendations

The Ombudsman has no recommendations to make.

Overview

The complainant (Mr C) complained that South Lanarkshire Council (the Council) failed to enforce a planning condition that would have provided him with access to the rear of his property and failed to explain why; that the Council failed to progress alternative arrangements; and failed to respond effectively to his complaint.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council:

• (a)  failed to enforce a planning condition (not upheld);
• (b)  failed to provide appropriate explanations (upheld);
• (c)  failed to progress alternative arrangements (not upheld); and
• (d)  failed to respond appropriately to a complaint (upheld).

Redress and recommendations

The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:

• (i)  apologise to Mr C for their failures; and
• (ii)  review their procedures to ensure that complaints are dealt with through the complaints process and that staff are reminded of the need to ensure accuracy in replies.

On 2 June 2004, the Ombudsman received a complaint from a man (referred to in this report as Mr C) about North Ayrshire Council's (the Council) failure to ensure maintenance of open space. This led to the land adjacent to Mr C’s property becoming overgrown and unkempt.

The complaint from Mr C concerned a document produced by a social worker recording a discussion with a general practitioner (GP) relating to the complainant's son (child A).

The complainant considered that his care at a mental health and learning disabilities service (the Unit) in August 2005 was poor, did not meet his needs and put him at increased risk of suicide because staff ignored his suicidal feelings.

The complainant (Mr C) alleged that South Ayrshire Council (the Council) had failed to take steps to curb anti-social behaviour emanating from youngsters congregating in a school playground next to his home or to take action in respect of specific measures he suggested.

The complainant raised a number of concerns about the handling of his complaints regarding an alleged noise nuisance from dog kennels in the vicinity of his property.

The complainant raised a number of concerns in connection with his application to buy his home: that the Association took too long to complete the sale; that although the sale was dependant upon repairs being completed they too were delayed and that personal, confidential information was released to the complainant's solicitors without his prior approval

The complaint concerned the treatment provided to a patient both pre and post-operatively when she became nauseated and in pain and her condition started to deteriorate.